Croacia vs Ghana: Copa del Mundo 2026

Thank you very much for joining me.

Here is Paul MacInnes report from Philadelphia.

Here is David Hytner's report from England v Panama.

There is plenty more football to come …

A bit of fun … Croatia's xG was 0.42 to Ghana's 0.74. The African's only had one shot on target!

Ingo emails: “Immense performance by the skipper – controlled the game, set up the winner, and had more brilliantly timed tackles in the last 10 minutes than the whole Ghanaian team. Not bad for a 40-year-old.â€

This result also means Scotland are out of the World Cup.

A deserved win for Croatian in the end against an unambitious Ghana who rightly finish third in the group.

90+6 mins: I can't remember watching a team with so little ambition to win a match as Ghana. The players can't enjoy this style of football, can they?

90+4 mins: Croatia have a corner as they continue to chip away at the time. Modric very slowly walks over to take a short one. If the plan was to keep possession then that is thrown out of the window when a dreadful cross is pumped out for a goal kick.

Oppong is booked for a very cynical foul.

90+2 mins: Croatia have a free-kick out on the left, which Modric fires in low but it easily cleared.

Kári Tulinius says: “Too bad that Croatia took the lead, because a Ghana managed by Carlos Queiroz against Roberto Martinez's Portugal seems like it would be simultaneously a dreadful spectacle and absolutely gripping, like watching a car crash happening at ten miles per hour.â€

90 mins: Seven minutes added.

88 mins: It looks like a knee issue for the City man. He's had an impossible task under Quieroz trying to lead a forward line that refuses to attack.

Croatia send on Gvardiol and Marco Pasalic. Pongracic and Baturina off.

87 mins: Semenyo is down clutching his leg. He does not look happy and calls for treatment. He pulls his shirt of his face to hide the agony.

86 mins: Croatia are now in full running the clock down mode.

85 mins: Yirenkyi is thrown on by Quieroz, as Sibo is withdrawn.

84 mins: No VAR review on that one.

Modric whips in the corner and Vlasic heads beyond the goalkeeper.

82 mins: Croatia have been completely blunt this half but Mario Pasalic finally offers some sharpness, thundering a shot from 18 yards, which Asare does well to spectacularly palm wide.

80 mins: Is everyone going to accept the score draw now? Croatia will not want to risk losing, that's for sure.

Mario Pasalic is on for Kovacic.

78 mins: It took four minutes to sort that out.

Most importantly … Ghana are up to second and Croatia down to third.

A free-kick is lifted to the back post where Brian Brobbey's brother, Luckassen, is waiting and he jabs the ball across the goalkeeper into the corner. Ghana are ecstatic until the flag is raised. We get to enjoy a lengthy VAR review and the referee goes to the monitor to check for something or other … and awards the goal!

76 mins: We are still reviewing …

73 mins: Luckassen has the ball in the back of the net but there is a flag up …

72 mins: The big last push!

Thomas Asante and Nuamah on for Sulemana and Ayew.

These are potential fixtures for the teams currently getting out of this group …

England v Senegal
Croatia v Portugal
Ghana v Colombia

69 mins: Hydration break!

68 mins: Ghana are readying some changes of their own, possibly having realised that finishing third isn't the best idea.

Perisic is booked for a robust challenge on Fatawu.

67 mins: Budimir off, Matanovic on.

Panama 0-2 England. Harry Kane.

It's all happening.

65 mins: Semenyo wins a corner on the left after some industrial work down the flank.

63 mins: Vlasic loses the ball on the halfway, allowing Sulemana to break but he takes a bad touch and a defender is on hand.

61 mins: Croatia enjoy their best move of the half, instigated by a stunning Modric pass but it comes to nothing.

Elsewhere … Bellingham has scored to put England top of the group.

59 mins: Pongracic tries to clear but hits Modric and the ball bounces inside the box, leading to a chase between Livakovic and Ayew, which the goalkeeper just about wins.

57 mins: Sulemana takes a beautiful touch on the left wing and then puts the ball into a dangerous are but Modric reads the danger and dives in to put it out for a corner.

55 mins: Croatia are struggling to get out of their half at the moment.

Fatawu almost has a glorious chance but has the ball nicked off his toes by a defender before he can fire goalwards.

53 mins: Ayew lumps a free-kick into the box but it is over everyone and limps out for a goal kick.

51 mins: Fatawu gets down the right to the byline and zips a cross towards Semenyo but it is an inch ahead of the Man City man and cleared at the back post.

49 mins: Ghana have a bit more about them already, which is a relief for fans of competitive football.

47 mins: Fatawu makes an instant impact by actually trying to attack. He rushes down the right before cutting in and whipping a dipping shot just over the bar.

Here we go again!

Ghana send on Fatawu and Oppong for Adjetev and Owusu.

You can keep an eye on the England match with Scott Murray. It does not sound like a great watch …

Chris gets in touch to say: “The first action I caught when I tuned in to this one was the Ghana keeper collecting a cross with no one around and falling on the ball for 5-10 seconds, one-nil-lead-in-stoppage-time style. Problem was, it was the 8th minute. That's typically not a good sign for the neutral.â€

At least it is dry.

As things stand, Croatia are going through as group winners.

Some half-time transfer news from me …

Leeds defender Pascal Struijk is being targeted by Brighton. Talks have begun and the Belgian could be on his way to the Amex

Not a classic but Croatia deserve their lead, purely by being the only side trying to win the match.

45 mins: Three minutes added on.

42 mins: Ghana are still just knocking it about at the back, maybe they've heard England are still drawing with Panama.

40 mins: Ghana have a throw high on the left but they do not give it to Semenyo to launch, lumbering it backwards. In fairness, the ball does come back and Semenyo finally has a chance to attack the goal, driving into the box and firing just wide.

39 mins: Croatia are not keen on giving the ball away.

38 mins: It is still all Croatia as Ghana just sit back and allow their opponents to do what they want. It's a fascinating gameplan.

36 mins: Semenyo must wonder if Quieroz has seen what he can do.

34 mins: Will this bring Ghana out of their well-constructed shell? Probably not.

GOAL! The ball reaches Petar Sucic around 25 yards from goal, he is allowed time to get it out of his feet and take aim, finding the bottom corner.

Into the bottom corner!

31 mins: Ghana are yet to have a shot on goal in the World Cup during the first half of matches. They haven't even tried for one this time.